Tag Archives: marvel

Lido Beach resident, who goes by the name of Sensei Magnum, was present at the zoning board meeting and got some information regarding the rebuilding of Marvel Ice Cream & Yogurt (258 Lido Blvd, Lido Beach, NY 11561). This is what Sensei had to say:

08/22/2012 “Marvel was an hour and a half long issue. There were about 20 of us there to show support with a stack of letters from neighbors sharing support. There were 7 or 8 people who opposed it (every single one of them live on Bath st.) & one lived on Allevard too. The architect, attorney, and a traffic engineer were also present representing Marvel.

The new proposed structure will have an enclosure that people will stand inside as a means of further protection. The current stand as well as the offices & the upstairs apartment rental (which my friend is currently living in) are proposed to be knocked down. An interesting piece of info is that according to FEMA requirements, if Marvel is demolished the new structure must be built adhering to flood protection guidelines. That strongly states that the structure must be built 5 ‘ higher off the ground then it currently is. That would hypothetically require Marvel to install a handicap accesible ellevator. The interesting thing about this permit, is that it states these developments are required for safety needs (something the school preservation bill was duplicitous about, but I digress) and the towns permit granted for safety can trump FEMA’s regulations. The opposition wasn’t prepared for this, the only issue they have is that customers illegaly park, and someone had the gaul to compare Bath street to the west end.

This proposal is removing potential revenue fron the owner and is focused on modernizing their organization. This will really improve traffic on Lido blvd as well. I’ll talk more about the schematics tomorrow.”

08/23/2012 “The proposed enclosure will be standing room only, there won’t be chairs. The proposed site will increase the parking spots from the current 17 to 19 parking spaces. (2 of those spaces are now going to be dedicated to handicapped spaces. (one opponent, said that if there are no handicap people present that those become wasted spaces.. she’s such a tool)

Marvel has a total of three Aprons into their site currently. This is proposed to stay the same. I spoke about how removing the ice cream stand removes an obstruction motorists usually feel hesitant about driving adjacent when turning right into the first apron from lido blvd east bounds’ lane. I asserted that with the stand leveled, there is nothing to be hesitant about, not only will motorists see available parking spaces immediately, so they will free up the congestion behind. And back ups on Lido Blvd will be a thing of the past. (considering that’s a safety issue in itself. I was surprised that none of Marvels’ representatives mentioned that, let alone other supporters) also I asserted that with the parking lot free of obstruction the exiting apron out to lido blvd will better noticed by the vehicles entering the lot, and will less likely use the bath st apron for exiting.

Finally, the board members said they would tour the site to determine what their decisions would be. [One resident] (btw lives 2 blocks away on Buxton street was probing hard about why the stand isn’t proposed to be moved to the south side of the lot. The response was that the sand would be have to be wider and dsplace more parking spaces bringing the parking spaces number to 13.

It’s important Anthony, to just repeat what the board told the opposition. .”the opposition for Marvels’ proposal has to be based on safety issues, since the focus of this proposal, as you obviously know, is about safety. The 6 opponents who spoke said nothing about safety, it was a communal bias about parkng, and not traffic. Pitiful imo.”

Marvel Ice Cream & Yogurt (258 Lido Blvd, Lido Beach, NY 11561) is a staple on our barrier Island. I always get the sense of walking through a time machine when I go there – to a place when life was less complicated. Vanilla soft serve with magic shell is my personal pick. You order from a window, then sit or stand around the parking lot eating your ice cream while watching who else comes by. Marvel has that sense of community which most places today lack. The building itself should be landmarked. But guess what? That iconic building with the cone on top might soon be rebuilt, as reported by the AOL-Owned LB Patch (see –Marvel Looks to Rebuild). Reasoning being: traffic goes to fast on Lido Blvd.

Let’s face it, Nassau County screwed up. The changes they brought to Lido Blvd has been nothing, but a disaster. Motorists still drive the same way: very fast and aggressive. The roads are still too wide and there are no bike lanes or wide sidewalks for the kids who go to the schools in that area. The only changes I really noticed are the landscapers once a month wacking some weeds on the new medians. Way to add to the landscaping budget….. I mean, they couldn’t even figure out the correct shrubs to plant! (Maybe some native grasses? They look beachy, require less water, grow fast and will hide the weeds.)

Long Beach & Lido Beach should be pedestrian/bike friendly communities, but are plagued with the three lane highway (Lido blvd / Park Ave) that runs through it. I drive Lido blvd almost everyday; at 50mph in the 30mph zone I AM THE SLOWEST DRIVER. I don’t want to go 50mph, but I have no choice. I don’t like being tailgated or aggressively passed by and cut off, so I reluctantly go with the traffic. At 20 over the speed limit, I’m still the slowest driver since every single car still passes me. Yep, Lido Blvd is dangerous:

Those are just three of many; I see accidents there all the time. It drives me crazy how one solution is to ban kids from skateboarding and riding their bikes on certain roads like Lido. If anything, we should encourage more of that activity. Kids are locked up in their homes in front of computers playing video games, staring at their ipads and iphones. Obesity is epidemic. You are telling me that we should ban these very same kids from getting exercise? Besides, they NEED to travel these roads to get to the schools that are there! For that reason alone, Lido Blvd should be extremely safe, not a three lane autobahn.

That’s where Marvel comes in. For the safety of their customers, Marvel plans to rebuild their iconic ice cream shop further away from Lido Blvd. Maybe it will benefit them with better parking, but I am going to miss the old building with that glowing cone on top. That being said, it’s a lot of money and trouble for them to spend, on a situation that should have been fixed when those roads were redesigned a few years ago. In other words: All that work our county did back in 2009 was a complete waste of money.

Like the shadow of a groundhog and the blooming of forsythias, some folks on our barrier Island see the opening of Marvel Ice Cream & Yogurt (258 Lido Blvd, Lido Beach, NY 11561) as a sign of warmer weather coming. As one resident puts it, “When Marvel opens in February it’s like a spark of hope for Long Beach residents: Winter can only last just so long; Marvel is back and summer will follow.”

Some of you might remember the fire that occurred over in Lido Beach earlier this summer that effected Dunes Delicatessen and Surf City Pizza. Well the Deli has since been open, but the Surf City Pizza (300 Lido Blvd) is officially out of business. “For Rent” signs have finally gone up.

Lido Beach had a nice little thing going on. Pizza, a Deli & Ice Cream – all of Life’s basic necessities making up the Lido Beach downtown a perfection. Now that Surf City Pizza is gone, what’s to come? Any guesses? If I were a betting man, I’d put all my money on a nail salon, since those are assimilating every vacant store around.

Anyways, farewell Surf City Pizza. I’ve only been there a few times, but I loved your effort, I thought your food was pretty good and I salute anybody who tries to bring more FUN to our beach community with your surf board tables, cool logo & overall decor of your place. Not to mention your name itself, reminding people that we do live near the beach. Most of the local places fail to do that. Here is a full list of local pizza places and you will see what I mean…

This area is oversaturated with Pizza anyways, so maybe this was in inevitable with or without the fire.